Meanwhile
by hpotter247
Summary: The year is 1995, while Harry Potter and his friends are busy trying to build a resistance against Voldemort, a group of first years are just now entering Hogwarts. Can Lauren and her friends survive their first year when the school seems to be crumbling from the inside out?


Lauren stood staring at the barrier at King's Cross Station. The letter she had received stated that the train for Hogwarts left at exactly 11 from platform nine and three quarters; and that all muggle born students head into the barrier between platforms nine and ten. But she couldn't, running into a barrier, it was barbaric. Time was inching closer to 11, and Lauren looked up to her parents.

"This is some big prank, let's just go. I can register late for classes with my friends," she whined.

"You're fine Ren, we ought to see some person who knows what they're doing heading onto the platform," her dad comforted her, placing his hand on her shoulder. No sooner than that her dad gasped. "By god, what breed do you think that dog is dear?"

"Whatever it is, it surely hasn't been cleaned in ages. And with all those people that brought it, they could have delegated the task to someone," answered Lauren's mother in disgust. Her father kept his veterinary eye locked on the dog, when no sooner, it vanished. Into the very barrier she had been staring at for ages now.

"Well, I think that's all the sign we need. Ren, honey, know we love you; and know you will be fine at this school. We have to go to the conference for your mother, or else we would see you off." Lauren's father emphasized and squeezed her tighter than he ever had before.

Tears were growing in her eyes, a new experience she knew nothing about, and her parents weren't even going to show her off. Lauren hugged her mom, and her mother gave a light squeeze back. Lauren pulled away from her mom, tears soaked the freshly pressed skirt she was wearing. As the clock ticked on, her father ushered her towards the barrier and before she knew it, she was running towards it.

Though tears still stained her light blue eyes, she couldn't take them off of the magnificent crimson train that was in front of her. Smoke billowed around her, some families were saying their final goodbyes, as many students made their way onto the train. As Lauren stepped closer and closer to the train, she saw the large black dog perched on its hind legs, looking like it was about to dance with a boy in the large crowd she saw moments ago. As she climbed aboard the train, the engine whistled, making her jump from the loud sound. Many compartments already had their doors closed as old friends talked and laughed. Through the first two carriages there seemed no space, and all hope seemed lost. As Lauren neared the end of the third carriage, she finally found an open compartment. Two girls and a boy were deep in conversation in the compartment.

"Mind if I sit?" Lauren asked sheepishly. They all turned towards her. The girl furthest from her jumped up and smiled. Her slightly crooked teeth shone bright against her shoulder length blond hair.

"Not at all! Here, you take my seat next to the window here; once the train leaves I heard the views are amazing! Oh, I'm Phoebe by the way. This here is my older sister Haley, she's in Hufflepuff," the girl talked a million miles a minute, but Lauren smiled at the girl's sister. There was a striking family resemblance; much like Phoebe, her sister had shoulder length blond hair, only unlike Phoebe's blue eyes, Haley's eyes were green. "Oh and this here is Cy, he's our cousin. We've had quite a lot of family members go to Hogwarts, and they always say, 'no matter the house, the Montgomery's must stay together." Lauren looked at the boy, unless you were told the three were cousins, you wouldn't guess. Cy had brown hair that he spiked up front, light brown eyes, and skin that looked like he had spent all summer at the shore.

"Well Phoebe, now that you have someone else to blabber on with, I'm going to see if I can go track down Ernie," Haley stated interrupting the long winded narrative of her sister. As she stood up she smiled down to Lauren "it was a pleasure to meet you, hope to see you around!"

"When will she realize that Ernie Macmillion doesn't even know who she is? He's two years older for Merlin's sake," Cy broke his silence, and him and Phoebe started laughing. He finally looked over at Lauren, noticing that she seemed thrown through a loop "what did you say your name was again?"

"I-I didn't. But it's Lauren. My dad calls me Ren sometimes."

"Oh, I like Ren, your dad must be a wise wizard to give you that nickname," Phoebe smiled before continuing on, "So Lauren, what house do you want to be sorted into, or better question, what house were your parents in?" Phoebe asked, her speed slower now. But Lauren had no idea what she was talking about.

"Well, my family lives in Essex. My dad is a veterinarian, and my mom is a business executive-"

"No, silly, your Hogwarts house! I'm hoping to be a Ravenclaw myself, but Haley says I talk way too much to belong there, she says all my talking might disrupt the 'studying times'" she made little quotes with her fingers, while trying to catch her breath. "I wouldn't mind being a Hufflepuff, but I really would rather not spend my time in school with my sister too, like I want a break you know?"

As Phoebe continued on, Cy looked over at the confused looks on Lauren's face.

"Phoebe," Cy interrupted. "I don't think Lauren knows about any of this. I think she's a muggle born. Are either of your parents a witch or wizard?" Lauren shook her head.

The three of them spent the entire train ride talking in the carriage. Phoebe and Cy explained all that knew to Lauren to catch her up to speed; and gave her a brief family history. While the Montgomery family wasn't considered 'pure-blood', they were a very old wizarding family; and they had many aunts and uncles go through all four houses at Hogwarts. As they filed out of the train and into the boats the conversation continued. They were joined by boy that Lauren couldn't stop looking at. A chiseled jaw, wavy black hair and the lightest carmel eyes that she couldn't stop looking into. Once the other boy joined, even Phoebe stopped talking, and their boat started moving towards the castle.

They soon stepped off of their boat and into a small waiting room. There were small murmurs throughout the crowd of students. Talks of which house people wanted to join, and the anxiety of being sorted. The boy from the boat soon piped up; "Did you all hear about last year? The school apparently had a student killed. The Prophet says that Potter boy did it, but I think there's something hiding in these walls that we're about to discover."

Lauren's stomach sank further down than it already was. These were important parts of the story and Cy and Phoebe left out. But she didn't have much time to dwell on that. They were soon escorted into the Great Hall. Four long tables lined with students smiling at them. There were so many students. Lauren didn't think she could make a place here, these older students wouldn't help out a muggle born like her, so she had to start from the bottom up, and she didn't think she was fit for it. Onwards they walked to the front of the hall.

Perched on top of a stool sat a hat, it looked rugged and worn down to her. Still looking around at the students surrounding her, Lauren's eyes gazed up. The ceiling was the night sky, this had to be a joke, no way was any of this real. A voice brought her gaze back down, but she couldn't see the person who the voice belonged to. She looked back at the stool and jumped; what used to be the plain hat now had a face, and was talking. She looked at Phoebe who was smiling at her, she must have been aware of all this beforehand, because she was acting like it was normal. The hat droned on, and a solemn tale it told. Maybe that boy in the boat had a point, maybe there's something going on here that they don't know about. The hat must have been done, as the students around them started clapping.

A tall witch with a roll of parchment walked to the stool and announced the first name:

"Ames, Jacob" The boy from the boat stood up. He put the hat on his head, and moments later it shouted "RAVENCLAW!"

After that Carla Barnaby was sorted into Hufflepuff. Ashley clapped before she knew it, and familiar name was calling her.

"Lauren Cadwell, that's you," Cy nudged her forward, with a smile.

Lauren stepped up to the stool and placed the hat on her head. She looked over to Jacob Ames at the Ravenclaw table and smiled, he smirked back. Her gaze soon fell upon Phoebe and Cy. A voice soon came into her ear and she nearly fell off the stool. Phoebe and Cy were both smiling at her, and Cy even gave her a thumbs up, letting her know she was ok.

"Smart yes, but does your mind have the inquisitive nature for Ravenclaw? Loyalty to new friends may steer your path in another direction. But what about the bravery that you have being here at all? So where should you belong?" Silence fell back into her ear. "GRYFFINDOR!" Lauren almost didn't hear it at first. But she saw the table clapping vigorously, and went there. A frizzy haired girl hugged her and welcomed her to Gryffindor. Lauren sat down and watched the rest of the sorting unfold.

Several names were called, and nervous students filed up to the Sorting Hat. Only a few students were sorted into Slytherin, and Jacob was looking lonely as not many first years were sorted into Ravenclaw either. Lauren took a glance at Phoebe, who was also getting a reassuring thumbs up from her sister at the Hufflepuff table; it was nice to have made a friend early in her time, but Lauren had a feeling Phoebe would soon be joining her sister.

"Montgomery, Cygnus," the stern looking with proclaimed.

Cy stepped up to the stool, and placed the hat on his head. The hall was silent for what seemed like minutes. Lauren hoped he would be joining her at the Gryffindor table, but had the overwhelming sense of dread that he would be joining his family with the Hufflepuffs. The silence was soon disrupted as the Sorting Hat exclaimed "SLYTHERIN!"

It all happened so fast, Lauren didn't know where to look first. Her gaze immediately fell on Cy who went stark white. He was looking at Phoebe, who was staring back at her. In an instant Phoebe was shaking, tears almost forming in her eyes. Then Lauren looked to Haley, and her hand was covering her mouth. Cy didn't get off the stool for a few more seconds, outside of the Slytherin table the hall was silent. Lauren looked over at Jacob, a half grin etched on his face and he shrugged his shoulders to her.

"Montgomery, Phoebe."

Phoebe wiped the look of shock off her face, and like everyone else before her, marched up to the stool. Her nerves seemed to be settled by the reassurance her sister kept giving her from the Hufflepuff table. The hat didn't seem to take as long with her as it did her cousin. "GRYFFINDOR" it shouted. Another look of shock fell upon her face. Phoebe stared at her sister, her mouth ajar. Lauren was the first person at the Gryffindor table to jump up and applaud for Phoebe. At least now she had a friend in her house, maybe she could handle this. Moments later Phoebe was at Lauren's side, her face still in shock.

"I just can't believe this. I mean, my family has had members in every house. Many uncles and aunts have been in Gryffindor, so it's not like this is a surprise; but my parents, my sister, all in Hufflepuff, and here I am. And then what about Cy?! Again, we've had a few rogue members in Slytherin, but does the Sorting Hat know something about him that the family doesn't? I mean, this whole night did not go how I expected to at all. Oh Ren, at least I have you. I'm glad you joined our carriage on the train," Phoebe whispered in hushed tones. Lauren tried to tone her out as best as she could, but her constant whispering disbelief wouldn't leave her ear. Phoebe's chammering outlasted the headmaster's speech, and some woman wearing bright pink clothes, but none of the students seemed to pay much attention to that.

As Phoebe finally made herself more aware of the current situation, everyone in the hall was standing up. What were they supposed to do? Everyone was filling out, and Lauren looked to Phoebe with wide eyes, but their eyes did not meet. Soon, the frizzy haired girl who hugged her when she was first sorted stood up.

"Oh Ron, come on! We have to lead the first years to the dormitory!" She demanded at a red headed boy, who slowly stood up and helped her lead the group out of the hall. Lauren walked side by side with Phoebe, as her new friend gave her warnings about the stairs during their train ride. If the rest of the year was going to be anything like tonight, Lauren thought, she was going to be in for a crazy journey.


End file.
